But I Thought Big Money In Politics Was Bad?

At least that is what a liberal panel at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy recently said:

In the recent elections, big donors and Super PACs spent heavily in election campaigns and to promote initiatives such voter ID laws. “Big money is unaccountable money.” said Congressman David Price (D-N.C.) The money is not evenly distributed – 80 percent of the outside spending, more than $6 billion, went to Republican candidates and causes. In this Congress, “Democrats won over 50 percent of the total votes, but not the seats,” he said. Voter suppression activities, such as voter I.D. laws and restricting early voting, work against grassroots efforts, he said.

“In North Carolina, we have a clear view of how money corrupts and the results,” said State Rep. Larry Hall, the N.C. House minority leader. He pointed to the influx of outside funding in the recent election. One group spent money for a Republican candidate in an Asheville race in the Charlotte media market as well as in the district, a race decided by less than 1,000 votes.

N.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby was re-elected in a tight race with State Appellate Court Judge Sam Ervin IV. Ervin had a consistent lead in the polls until “the banjo ad,” a TV spot funded mainly by the Washington, D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee, which also paid for consultants for N.C. redistricting plans now being contested in court. Newby is the judge on that case. Since he did not raise that money, “Newby can distance himself from it and he has not recused himself from the case,” said Anita Earls,executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.

“I call the Super PACs money drones,” said U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.). “As a candidate, you are walking along and hear a humming noise, then $500,000 worth of ads goes off over your head.” Congressmen now spend an inordinate amount of their time fund-raising, to have enough funding to combat the influence of unexpected ad campaigns by Super PACs and large donors. “We don’t have time to study bills or get to know our colleagues. It creates a climate of fear.”

A new $12 million television ad campaign from Mayors Against Illegal Guns will push senators in key states to back gun control efforts, including comprehensive background checks.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the ad buy Saturday – just days after Senate Democrats touted stronger background checks while acknowledging insufficient support to restore a ban on assault-style weapons to federal gun control legislation.

You think that the vulnerable officials in these areas are subjected to a “climate of fear”?

Oh, right. It is for the same reason that they never squawked about Obama raising nearly a billion dollars to run his campaign and continuing propaganda machine.

Citizen’s United = bad. Michael Bloomberg = good.

It is different when you have the “right” political position, I guess.

One thought on “But I Thought Big Money In Politics Was Bad?”

I can’t say for sure, but I believe Bloomberg has stepped on his wank this time. People in flyover country where he’s going to be running these ads will ignore them for the elitist propaganda they are.